


Rose's Nightmare

by PinkiePyrope1579



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: My First Work in This Fandom, Nightmares, Post-Gem War, Rose's Guilt, Survivor Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 10:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8052241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkiePyrope1579/pseuds/PinkiePyrope1579
Summary: Rose didn't always do what was best for herself.





	Rose's Nightmare

"Rose?" 

"Yes, my Diamond?" 

"Come here. I want to talk to you." 

Rose Quartz walked closer to her Diamond. Pink Diamond was almost always smiling, but today, she seemed worried about something. She gestured towards the side of her throne closest to the glass wall, and Rose took her place there. Out there, Rose could see the blue, green, and white of Earth, her Diamond's colony and her home. 

"Doesn't the planet look beautiful from here, Rose?" Pink Diamond asked. 

"Yes, my Diamond. It's gorgeous." Rose smiled softly and sadly. It felt like she could almost touch it from here, feel all of the splendor of its life underneath the palm of her hand. But she knew well what would happen to it all if the Diamonds had their way... 

"And, you know what, Rose? It's going to be even more beautiful once it's producing gems by the thousands. That planet is going to make the best gems Homeworld's ever seen! ...Don't you agree?' 

Rose paled. She'd seen in holograms what happened to a planet when the Diamonds were done with it. All of the resources were sucked dry, the surfaces were hard and rocky, and spires and Kindergartens replaced forests and rivers. She couldn't imagine that happening to Earth. One Kindergarten was bad enough for the place; why did they need over 80? All of the funny Earth lifeforms, those humans, would all die and disappear, and for what purpose? "I...I..." 

"Rose, are you alright?" 

Rose tried to gain her composure. She turned back to look her Diamond in the eye. "Yes, my Diamond, I'm fi-" 

But Pink Diamond was looking at her with an uncharacteristically bitter expression. "You love that planet, don't you? You love it enough that you would kill for it. I know... I experienced that firsthand!" 

Rose stumbled back so quickly, she fell into the wall. Meanwhile, Pink Diamond stood up, revealing the cracks spreading along the gem on her navel. Her face was filled with anger and hurt. "You killed me, Rose. I trusted you, and you sent an army against me." She put her hands in her face, and her form fazed and flickered erratically. 

"Please... I didn't-" 

"Oh, I get it. You never wanted to hurt anyone, right? You don't want to stain your spotless conscience, huh?" Suddenly, Bismuth was in Pink Diamond's place, looking up with tears welling in her eyes, and the throne room faded into her forge. "Well, newsflash: this is war! Gems are going to get killed! Do you even know how many of our friends have been shattered by Homeworld while you've been playing swords with Pearl?! DO YOU EVEN CARE?!" 

Rose felt her sword and her shield appear in her hand. Bismuth was right in her face now, the Breaking Point strapped to her arm. Rose shielded herself from a blow, on the verge of crying as well. Her sword arm felt so heavy, but she made to strike... 

...and an ear-shattering clang rang through the air. Pink Diamond was back, a look of betrayal in her eyes. Rose felt herself floating back to the ground as her former leader's cry rang through the air. She shielded her eyes from the blinding flash of light, and then, there were nothing but shards scattered across the floor. But when she bent down to examine the shards, she didn't find Pink Diamond's. She saw the shards of dozens - no, hundreds - of other gems. She picked them up, and to her horror, she recognized almost all of them. Bixbite, Snowflake, Crazy Lace, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, they were all there, all of her closest friends. Rose unbuckled the Breaking Point from her arm where she'd somehow found it, then tossed it away from herself with an anguished yell. 

"I-I didn't want to hurt anyone! I just wanted to protect this planet! Please..." 

Rose Quartz awoke with a start. The landscape she'd woken up into looked very similar to the throne room in her dream, but it soon faded back into pink clouds. The war was over. They'd won. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she remembered everything she'd done to get to this moment. She heard an abrupt knock on the door, interrupting her thoughts. It was probably Pearl coming to report on a corrupted Gem or something of the sort. Sighing, she dried her eyes, put on a smile and made to leave the room. She had everything she'd ever fought for now, and so she painted on her smile, and she left. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little fic I wrote on a whim in a couple of hours. Criticism is welcome, as long it's constructive. :)


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